It is January first in Montana (yeah, kind-of everywhere today 😉 ) with temperatures ranging from the morning low of -1 to a high of 20 degrees Fahrenheit. When I raised the thermal drapes this morning there was ice six inches up the south windows.
The one tomato plant and one of my sweet bell peppers on my studio bench are starting to bud into flowers!
I think I planted the seeds in pots on the October full moon; the 24th. I definitely planted lettuce, spinach, basil and oregano in the greenhouse on that day, but can find no mention in my notes of pepper planting anywhere. I think I remember doing them then.
The greenhouse lettuce and spinach plantings were a success, but the oregano and basil experiments failed. On the other hand, planting pepper and tomato seeds in my warmer studio worked like a charm.
I put several seeds in each pot, then thinned the sprouts down to what I felt each container could successfully grow. In the case of the two round pots that is one “Healthy Pepper” and one “Manitoba Tomato” each. In my ‘window-sill tray’ I am guessing three “Staddon’s Peppers” will be okay sharing the space. Those names, by the way, come from my supplier: Territorial Seed.
About a decade ago just over the hill in Grangeville (same latitude) I was given a potted jalapeño plant around Christmas, along with instructions on pollinating its flowers with an artist’s paintbrush. It gave us peppers all winter and spring. I am finally getting around to trying the same trick here, and very excited with my progress so far.
